Chapter Three: Flying Solo
Castiel's POV:
When I got home, my head was so heavy with thoughts and conflict that it pounded in agony. I rushed inside my house and went straight for the medicine cabinet, swallowing some pain relievers and downing a glass of water. It felt like two separate people were arguing in my head, and I couldn't think or even see straight.
'Maybe Lysander was right…maybe I do love her. I know I don't know her at all, but any time she's around me my heart feels like it's about to explode…' I thought to myself as I paced around my living room. Shaking my head and hitting it a few times, I tried to straighten out my thoughts.
'Why am I thinking like this? She's just a stupid, good for nothing chick. I don't need her. I don't need anyone. I'm being a pussy thinking about all this love bullshit, I need to man up!" I nodded with my second thought and plopped down on the couch, letting out a heaving sigh and burying my head in a pillow. Soon I felt a soft licking on my arm and looked up to see Demon standing there, just starring at me.
"What is it boy? What do you think I should do?" I asked him, patting him playfully on the head as he panted. His ears became alert and he started to wag his tail and turn in circles, letting out some yips and barks.
"What are you trying to tell me?" I asked him, a stupid grin plastered to my face. Demon ran to the kitchen counter and put his paws up on the granite.
"Get down from there!" I scolded him, and he fell back and looked up at the surface of the counter.
"Oh, you want a treat…" I realized, sticking my hand in his jar of treats and pulling one out for him. As my hand grazed the counter I noticed a big, thick phone book laying on the table. It was the newest edition and had just come in the mail today. I starred at it for a while, and looked back at Demon, giving him his biscuit, before picking up the phone book and heading to my room.
Brooke's POV:
My mouth was still stuffed with Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream as I starred at the TV, sobbing at the ending of the movie, The Titanic. My plan was just to veg out for the night and forget the world, and so far it was working pretty well. All I have to do to make myself feel better is watch a chick flick that's guaranteed to make me bawl my eyes out and eat an entire pint of ice cream. Suddenly though, my own little world was disrupted by the ringing of my house phone. I forgot I even had a house phone...why would someone call my house phone? Surely it's a telemarketer or something.
I stretch my arms above my head and yawn before slowly meandering over to the phone, and picking it up, holding it close to my ear.
"Hello?" I say, quite unenthusiastically.
"Uh…hey, is this Brooke?" I hear from the other line. Is that…Castiel?
"Um, yeah…Castiel?" I ask, very confused.
Why is he calling me? And how did he get my number?
"Yeah…" He said, seeming almost as confused as I was, even though he was the one that called me!
"Why are you calling me?" I asked, flat out.
"Oh yeah, uh, I called to apologize- for earlier." He muttered, actually seeming sincere.
"Well…thanks…I guess. Apology accepted. Hey, um…how'd you get my number?" I asked him. This conversation was extremely awkward.
Castiel started to chuckle on the other line.
"Oh my god I must seem like the biggest stalker of all time. I used the phone book! I just felt so bad; I wanted to apologize before you decided you were never going to talk to me again." He said seeming a little more relaxed now than before.
I giggled too. "Looks like you apologized just in the nick of time. I was just contemplating whether or not to kill you." I joked, adding in a giggle.
"Well then, I am lucky aren't I?" He said, sarcastically.
"Pfft, yeah!" I scoffed back.
Castiel and I ended up talking for 3 hours on the phone. I sat and twirled the house phone cord as he told me about his dog, Demon, how his parents worked on airplanes, (his father a pilot and his mother a hostess) leaving him home alone most of the time, and his band with Lysander. I told him all about my parent's abandonment of me for stupid kiwis, and about how I hoped I could have my own dog someday, and we shared random stories about our past and told random facts about ourselves. Talking to him on the phone like that opened up a new side of him that I was surprised even existed. He could be sweet, funny, and down to earth when he wanted to be, and that definitely shined through our phone conversation.
When the clock struck 1 AM I told him I was off to bed, and we hung up the phone, but I slept with ease that night knowing that Castiel and I were now officially friends. He knew me and I knew him, for the most part, and there weren't any more hard feelings. I felt good knowing that I had made friends in Castiel and Lysander already, and hoped to make a few more, if possible.
2 WEEKS LATER
The next two weeks at Sweet Amoris High flew by quickly. I was now pretty close friends with Castiel and Lysander, and hung out with the two on a regular basis. I had made a few other friends throughout my classes as well. There was Violette, a shy but incredibly sweet girl from my art class that helped me get my drawings just right. Melody was from my English class. She was smart and studious, and after being in a study group together we clicked by talking about how much we both disliked Amber. I met Iris in the lunch line, and we bonded over a shared love of pickles. She was extremely helpful and kind, and would usually give me advice about anything. Jade, an older boy that tends to the school garden but doesn't actually go to this school, was really sweet. I met him when I agreed to help out the gardening club for an afternoon and he taught me a lot about growing plants. Nathanial had also been especially nice to me in the last two weeks, talking to Amber about her bullying (Although she did get mad at me about that…) and sticking up for me against her. He was really starting to impress me. I was sure he'd make a good friend as well.
Things for me in the small town of Amoris were looking up, and for the first time since my parents had moved away, I felt happy where I was. I was sure now that living on my own here was going to be better than I had expected.
Mondays were always completely dreadful. Not only did you have to wake up and get back to the sad and boring reality of school, but usually people's moods were at their lowest, and the day tended to drag on much longer than any other day of the week. The only good thing about Mondays was that after school (Like almost every day, but still!) I stayed a while to hang out with Cas and Lys. The past two weeks we had been climbing up to the balcony that Castiel had shown me on my first day and just talking, and I loved having something to do after school rather than just going straight home to do more school work.
This particular Monday was rainy, cloudy and all-around dreary. I always liked the rain, but it was humid as well, which made it so much more uncomfortable outside.
When I pulled up to Sweet Amoris I pulled my hood over my hair and bolted to the door, which was thankfully being held open by someone for me. When I got inside I drew my hood back and turned around to see who it was.
"Thanks Nathanial!" I said to the smiling boy behind me. He put his arm around me as we walked down the hall.
"Good to see you didn't drown out there. Hey, if you have a second later on during the day, do you think you could meet me in the student council room?" He asked, randomly.
"Sure…am I in trouble?" I inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, you are in lots of trouble. I know all about what you've been up to…" He said, his telling smirk giving him away.
I decided to play along anyway. Nathanial wasn't very good at playing jokes on people, but his effort was cute and I had to give him that.
"What did I do?" I asked, putting on a worry-stricken face.
He started to giggle and shook his head.
"I'm just kidding! You're not in any trouble; I just need to talk to you about something." He chuckled.
"Oh, thank goodness! You had me going…but yeah, I'll definitely stop in and see you a little later. Probably after lunch?" I told him as we strolled down the halls.
"Perfect! See you then!" He said, hugging me tight before walking swiftly down the hall.
I shrugged my shoulders and turned to walk to my class before bumping straight into queen bitch herself. Amber Wood.
"Listen bitch, stop hanging around my brother. He is way too good for you, and I can totally tell you want him. He's not interested in…your type." She barked, eyeing me up and down.
"Amber," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Your brother and I are just friends. Believe me, he's not my type." I explained.
"That's right, because your type is probably more like a homeless man, or a hobo. My brother has standards, and I have standards for what my brother drags home. So back off." She said, before tossing her hair over her shoulder and strutting down the hall.
I just laughed and shook my head.
"What did the queen of the skanks want this time?" I heard from behind me. I turned around to see Castiel standing there.
"She was just reminding me to stay away from Nathanial, as if I was drooling over him or something. Give me a break." I scoffed, rolling my eyes.
"Oh please, no one wants your geeky brother Amber, don't worry!" Castiel called down the hall before slinging his arm around me and walking with me.
"Wanna skip class and watch the rain with me?" He asked with a devious grin.
"For the 100th time, ask me next year when I'm not a new student anymore. I am not getting in any trouble.
"C'mon, live a little…" He begged. Castiel was always trying to talk me into skipping class, but I was completely too paranoid to do so.
"I'm gonna have to pass, but smoke a cigarette for me while you're up there! I need one so bad right now. I'm already stressed. I hate Mondays." I complained, slouching my shoulders in despair.
"Little miss goody two-shoes strikes again. Well, if you won't go with me then I might as well head to class myself. No point in standing up there all alone." He said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Ask Lys to go with you?" I suggested.
"Are you kidding me? Lysander is a goody two-shoes just like you are. He wouldn't dare skip first period!" He said, mocking Lysander's proper accent with the last line.
I chuckled, shaking my head and pulling Cas in for a hug before heading to class.
"Be good!" I called to him as he walked away.
"You know me." He said, winking at me with a smirk before running down the hall to his class.
Right before I was to enter the class room, I was stopped by Ken, walking down the hall towards me, looking pretty bummed out. He waved a solemn hello to flag me down and I walked over to him.
"Hey Ken, what's up?" I asked him. I could tolerate him in low doses. He was so nice and helpful, just a little clingy.
"Hey Brooke…I just wanted to come find you before I left…" He said, looking down at the ground. His voice was soft and low.
"Left? Like for the day?" I asked him.
"No…forever. My dad signed me up for military school. He wants to make a man out of me." He explained, sadly.
"What?! Why?" I asked, genuinely curious and a little bummed for him.
"Well, I didn't want to have to tell you this because you shouldn't have to worry about me, but Amber was bullying me an awful lot. It got so bad that my dad said that no son of his was going to take crap from a girl anymore." He told me, crossing his arms now.
"Oh no…Ken, I'm gonna miss you…" I told him, somberly.
"I'll miss you too Brooke. Just don't forget about me, okay?" He asked, holding his arms out for one last hug. I could do him the pleasure of giving him a great goodbye, after all, I'd probably never see him again.
"Ken I'll never forget you!" I said, hugging him tight and giving him an innocent kiss on his cheek. He held his cheek as I pulled away, and turned bright red.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye." He said, turning away and walking towards the exit.
"Goodbye Ken…" I called back to him.
I felt sad for Ken. Yeah, he was utterly annoying, but he was such a nice boy. He didn't deserve to be bullied by Amber. It made me so mad that she got to him that much. Then again, military school would probably be good for him. He did have a lot to learn about self-defense, and even might help his physic a little. I wasn't even sure he had even hit puberty yet, so that might push it along a little.
Getting through my first couple of classes was excruciating. They were longer than usual, I swear, and everyone seemed to be in a bad mood.
"Psht…" I heard from the desk behind me as we read silently to ourselves in English.
I turned around to see Melody poking at me, trying to get my attention.
"Hey, what is it?" I asked her.
"Nathanial wanted me to ask you if you were still coming to meet him today to talk…" She whispered to me.
"Um…yeah, I just talked to him about that not too long ago. That's weird. But yeah, I'm planning on it." I said. How weird…Nathanial asked Melody to ask me if I was still coming to meet him? Why wouldn't I be?
"He seemed almost nervous when he asked me. He might be up to something. Let me know if he is!" She told me with a smile.
I nodded and we continued to our work. I couldn't stop trying to figure out in my head why Nathanial would ask Melody to ask me that, not even 3 hours after I had told him I'd be there. Hmm…
I ate lunch outside with Castiel and Lysander and we mostly just complained about people and school. Once I was done, I quickly told them I had something to do, and started off for the Student Council Office. When I got there, the door was closed, so I knocked a few times, and swiftly it was opened by a grinning Nathanial, who ushered me inside.
"Have a seat…" He told me, as I sat down in front of the desk.
"What's up?" I asked him, crossing my legs.
"Well, I was wondering- do you like cupcakes?" He said. I squinted my eyes with confusion.
"Um…yeah, I guess I like cupcakes. Why?" I asked him, in a very contemplative tone.
"Because someone made me this huge cupcake for Student Body President Appreciation Day, which is today, but I don't like sweet stuff like this. I was wondering if you wanted it." He asked me.
Are you serious? THIS is all he wanted to talk to me about? A friggin' cupcake? Surely this was not the end of it…
"Uh…yeah, sure…thanks…" I said, taking the cupcake from him, which was already placed in a container, and putting it away in my bag.
After I put the cupcake away, I looked up at Nathanial, who was just sitting there and smiling at me politely. He was definitely up to something. I was convinced that he didn't ask me to meet him just so he could give me a cupcake.
"So it's Student Body President Appreciation day, huh?" I asked him, with a smirk. He nodded his head with a chuckle.
"Yeah, I guess it is, haha." He exclaimed, standing up and walking around the desk.
"Well, I'm sorry I didn't bake you anything, or get you a card or something…" I said narrowly, just trying to make conversation.
"I know how you can make it up to me…" He said, coyly.
"Oh yeah?" I asked him, curious to hear what he had to say.
"Yeah…" He said, outstretching his hand out to me.
I took it, and he pulled me up and out of my chair, backed me up against the wall, and next thing I knew, his lips were on mine, and he was kissing me, hard. I was so taken aback; I had no idea what was even happening. He gave me no time to react, so I just went along with it until finally he pulled away for air.
He rested his forehead against mine and sighed.
"I've wanted to do that for a long time…" He whispered.
I had NO idea what to even say back to him. I was in shock.
"Yeah…hey, I really have to get going to class…I'm sorry…" Was all I could spit out. He looked into my eyes and smiled.
"I love how dedicated you are…" He cooed. I couldn't believe this was happening.
"You too…" I said, digging around in my brain for anything to make this less awkward than it already was for me.
"Take this before you go." He said, putting a piece of paper into my hand, and then kissing me one more time before backing away.
"Thanks for the cupcake!" I squeaked.
He smirked and winked at me before I was hurrying out the door. I looked down at the slip he had placed in my hand. It had his cellphone number on it, and was signed with his name and a heart. A heart! This was serious. A code red! I had to find Castiel and tell him! I had no idea what to do. I didn't want a boyfriend at all, but I felt bad blowing Nathanial off. How was I going to break it to him without ruining my reputation? If the Student Body President hated me then I'd probably be screwed.
As I rushed down the halls, I bumped into Lysander, hurrying to his next class.
"Hey! Where's Cas?" I asked him.
"Slow down dear, catch your breath a minute. He just went into the bathroom before class, probably to fix his hair. You alright?" He asked me, putting a hand on my heaving shoulder.
"I'm fine, I'll explain later, thanks!" I said, hugging him quickly and letting him get to class as I waited for Castiel to come out of the bathroom.
When he walked out he looked surprised to see me. I grabbed him by his arm quickly and dragged him towards the door.
"We're skipping class." I muttered quickly to him.
"Sweet! You feel alright?" He asked me as we power-walked to our spot up on the balcony.
"I'll explain when we get there." I huffed, climbing the many stairs to the very top.
When we got to the top, the first thing I did was light a cigarette. Castiel lit one as well, and then I turned to him, my eyes wide, bracing myself to repeat the events that had just took place.
"So…?" Castiel asked me.
"So…guess who kissed me?" I said, raising my eyebrows.
"Someone kicked you?" Castiel asked.
"No, no- not kicked. KISSED. Guess who KISSED me?" I reiterated to him. His eyes got wide and he starred at me blankly, shrugging his shoulders.
"Nathanial Wood. He KISSED me, Cas. He ambushed me! He told me he had something he needed to talk to me about, and he gave me this stupid cupcake…" I told him, pulling out the cupcake and preparing to throw it off the balcony.
"Hey, give me that!" Castiel said, outstretching his hands for the cupcake. I threw it to him and stuffed it in his bag as I shook my head at him.
"What? I like cupcakes!" He said, with a smirk.
"Yeah well apparently Nathanial doesn't. Anyway, he gave me the cupcake, and then next thing you know he was pinning me up again the wall and kissing me!" I explained.
"Well, you punched him in the mouth, right?" He asked me, raising his eyebrows.
"No I did not punch him in the mouth! Can you really see me punching the student body president in the mouth, Castiel?" I asked him.
"I don't know, that's what I would have done!" He said, shrugging his shoulders. "So…what did you do?" He asked me.
"I…I might have kissed him back?" I whined, putting my head down.
"You kissed him back!? WHY!?" He barked at me.
"I don't know! I didn't want to…it just, happened. I didn't want to be mean." I squeaked, pathetically.
"Well, do you want to go out with him?" Castiel asked me, seriously.
"No! Not at all! I don't want a boyfriend at all right now, I have WAY too much on my plate. I promised myself I wouldn't get involved with anyone for at least a year after I moved here. Relationships bring me nothing but trouble. I'm flying solo! Besides, Nathanial is NOT my type. You know that! I just don't know what to do…I really fucked up…" I explained, sighing with despair. I was so confused! How could I possibly tell Nathanial that I wasn't into him without hurting him?
"Fuck him…" Castiel huffed, shaking his head.
"WHAT?! NO WAY!" I screeched. I can't believe he would say that!
"NO, no, not like that. Don't do that. What I meant was, forget him!" He explained. I sighed with relief.
"I can't just ignore him Cas, I have to explain myself." I told him.
"Tell him what you just told me I guess. Say you can't have a boyfriend right now. You should also tell him that he's a fuck-head and that even if you wanted a boyfriend you wouldn't go out with him if he was the last man on earth…" Castiel said.
"Cas, I gotta be nice. This is someone's feelings we're dealing with here. He's in deep, he even gave me this." I told him, holding up the note he gave me. Castiel read it, and then ripped it from my hands, taking out his lighter and setting it on fire, before throwing it off the balcony and down to the ground.
"Well, you won't be needing that…" He said, watching it drift down.
I just sighed and plopped down on the ground, burying my head in my hands.
Castiel kept me company throughout the entire period, trying to keep my mind off the entire situation, but to no avail. I was miserable having to come to terms with the fact that I absolutely had to talk to Nathanial as soon as I got back to the school. I wasn't sure how he'd react, but I really had no other choice.
When we finally heard the dreaded class bell ring, we grabbed our bags and sneaked down to the school. Cas gave me a hug before I headed off to see Nathanial.
"Knock 'em dead. Literately, if you find any blunt objects…" He started to say.
"Shut up and get to class…" I playfully told him, as we went our separate ways. I breathed in a loud, long breath before bracing myself and walking to the student council room to see if Nathanial was there. When I came to it, I knocked on the door. Yet again, it was quickly answered by Nathanial, who looked delighted to see me.
"Back so soon, huh?" He asked me, an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, listen, I have to talk to you about something…" I told him. He sat down, as did I.
"I'm all ears!" He said with a warm smile.
"Listen Nat, I really like you, a lot…" I started.
"I like you, too!" He chirped, eagerly.
"But…I have a LOT on my plate right now. My parents just practically abandoned me, I'm still trying to settle in here, and school work is really crazy, and that's just the start of it. I really want this to work out, but it wouldn't be fair to you if we started a relationship right now. I'm in a different world, and I wouldn't be able to focus on you at all. I just need some time before I can commit to someone. I'm sorry…" I told him.
Okay, so I embellished a few details, but I needed to do whatever I could to get myself out of the hole I had dug, while still trying to remain friends with Nathanial.
Nathanial nodded his head, and smiled at me.
"I completely understand. I'm sorry I didn't give you more time to get to know me or anything. I didn't even ask you out, and I put you in a tight spot by acting on my impulses. I know there's something between us, the timing is just off. I really respect you for choosing to focus on your studies and getting settled in. Seems like everything you say just makes me like you more, but I'll wait for you, and I'll be here whenever your ready. Until then, are we still friends?" He said, cheerfully sticking his hand out for a handshake.
I closed my eyes and sighed a sigh of relief before gladly shaking his hand.
"Friends, definitely!" I exclaimed. He pulled me in for a tight hug, and I hugged him back before telling him goodbye and heading out for the door.
It went swimmingly, and I was extremely happy with the outcome, besides the fact that Nathanial was going to wait around for me until I was ready…but I pushed that to the back of my head and decided I would deal with it later.
After school I met up with Castiel and Lysander, and we went back up to our spot. I told Lysander the ridiculous story, and he was actually proud of me for the way I handled everything. We just hung out until it started to get dark, and then at around 8PM we went our separate ways for home.
My head was still reeling all night with the thoughts of my manic Monday swimming around. Ken left for military school, and Nathanial liked me. Needless to say, I fell asleep pretty easily that night, completely exhausted from that day's events.
Castiel's POV-
Getting into the car with Lys, I started to laugh.
"I can't believe the nerve of that jackass Nathanial, trying to practically rape Brooke with his face. If I were there I would have knocked him the fuck out." I said, laughing about the thought of Nathanial thinking Brooke would actually go for him, but at the same time, feeling slightly pissed off that he tried to make a move on her.
"Is that jealousy I sense?" Lysander asked me, putting his hand to his chin.
"Lys, you are seriously crazy sometimes. Why would I be jealous of Nathanial? He got shot down, anyway!" I scoffed.
"Yes, but she kissed him back." Lys added.
"I know, but she didn't mean it." I argued back.
"Yes, but you can still be jealous. He got to feel her lips on his." He told me.
"When are you going to give up this whole Brooke thing, Lys?" I asked him.
"When you admit that you love her." He said to me.
He was off his rocker. I didn't love her. What was there to love about her, anyway? I mean, sure, her big, beautiful blue eyes were like starring into the sun without it burning. They took my breath away and left me speechless. Sure, her long brunette hair was the softest I'd ever felt, and always smelled like sweet coconuts. Yeah, her smile could light up my entire day, and her laugh made my heart smile, so what? She was the most stunning, most adorable girl I had ever met in my life, but just because whenever I held her I felt like I was at peace with the entire world did not mean that I loved her.
…
I am madly in love with Brooklyn Taylor, aren't I?
Thanks so much for your reviews everyone! I'm having a lot of fun with this story and have a ton of drama planned for the very near future. Keep reading and reviewing if you like it, and I'll be back soon with more!